Chinese Chess

Chinese Chess

Chinese Chess is a traditional board game. It is so named in order to be distinguished from international chess. Like international chess, it is a strategy game that simulates the confrontation between two armies and is believed to have roots in military strategy.

Chinese Chess is a two-player game played with a board and pieces. The board has 90 intersections formed by nine vertical lines and 10 horizontal lines. The thick horizontal line in the middle of the board which separates the two sides is called the "River of the Chu and Border of the Han". The square zones containing diagonal lines are the palaces where the generals are placed. The pieces are divided into two groups, red and black, with 16 pieces for each player. The ancient Chinese saw Chinese Chess as a means to inspire wisdom, cultivate strategic thinking, and demonstrate leadership ability in addition to a form of entertainment.

Chinese Chess is one of the most popular board games in China. Following the Tang Dynasty (618- 907), the game was introduced to other Asian countries such as Japan, Korea, and Vietnam. In the late Qing Dynasty (1616-1911) it spread to Europe and America, gradually becoming a worldwide game.

中國象棋

中國象棋是中國傳統棋種，為區別于國際象棋，故稱中國象棋。其起源被認為與軍事有著密切關系，是模仿兩軍對壘的一種謀略游戲。

中國象棋是兩人對局，有棋盤、棋子。棋盤由9道直線和10道橫線交叉組成，共有90個交叉點。棋盤中間沒有畫線的地方是雙方的分界線，名為“楚河漢界”，畫有米字斜交叉線的方形區域是安放將帥的“九宮”。棋子分紅、黑兩組，各16子。古人認為，中國象棋不僅具有娛樂作用，而且可以啟迪智慧，培養戰略思維，鍛煉指揮能力。

中國象棋是中國最普及、最受歡迎的棋類游戲之一。自唐朝起，中國象棋開始向日本、朝鮮、越南等地廣泛傳播， 清朝后期傳播到歐美，逐漸走向世界。